RANCHI: Meet Ashtam Oraon; she comes from a village in Jharkhand’s Gumla. The daughter of a daily wager will lead the Indian football squad in FIFA U-17 Women World Cup-2022. Jharkhand will also have the unique distinction of sending six players from the state for the sporting event kicking off from October 11. They are Ashtam Oraon, Neetu Linda, Anjali Munda, Anita Kumari, Poornima Kumari and Sudha Ankita Tirkey. This is for the first time that a player from Jharkhand will lead the Indian side in the multi-nation event.
Ashtam’s family brought her up by feeding her ‘maad-bhaat’ (rice). The girl’s response to want and penury has been as stupendous as the odds stacked against her. “The circumstances were such that I could dish out only ‘maad-bhaat,’ says Ashtam’s mother Tara Devi. “I am happy Ashtam has made Jharkhand proud,” says the mother of five children.
Ashtam’s father Heeralal Oraon was speechless when he heard about his daughter’s achievement. He says Ashtam is crazy about football; she has been practising the sport with her friends virtually everywhere – at home, outside and on the way to paddy fields. “People made fun of me and persisted that I stop her from playing football. But looking at her zeal, I never said anything to her. Her stubbornness has led her to this position,” says Heeralal.
He has some agricultural land in the village that helps him sustain his family. Often, he has to go out to work as a daily wage labourer, he says. Ashtam belongs to the Gora Toli village under Bishunpur Block in Gumla, one of the most backward areas of Jharkhand with no mobile or internet connectivity. Ashtam showed her capability in local ‘khassi’ tournaments (where the winner gets a goat) and finally made it to the Indian team. Chief Minister Hemant Soren congratulated the players for their selection to the Indian team.